California Cutting Off 48K State Workers' Cell Phones

Here's one more reason California finds itself with a $25 billion budget deficit—it was handing out cell phones to state employees like candy. Nearly 100,000 state workers—about 40% of the workforce—have phones on the taxpayers' dime. New Gov. Jerry Brown is ordering that half of them be turned in, for an estimated savings of about $20 million a year, reports the Los Angeles Times.

“It is difficult for me to believe that 40% of all state employees must be equipped with taxpayer-funded cellphones,” said the governor. “Some state employees, including department and agency executives who are required to be in touch 24 hours a day and seven days a week, may need cellphones, but the current number of phones out there is astounding.” (More California stories.)